“Major US social media companies including Meta’s Facebook and Instagram platforms have blocked the accounts of Saudi Arabian dissidents so they are no longer visible inside the kingdom, following orders by Saudi authorities.”

“At least seven accounts had been blocked by Meta at the end of April, including those of two American citizens and two individuals based in Europe, according to the advocacy group American Committee for Middle East Rights (ACMER).”

“Meta... provided a statetment to the Guardian saying that when “something happens” on one of its platforms that is reported as violating local law but not the companies’ own community standards, the company may restrict the content’s availability in the country where it is alleged to be unlawful.”

“Meta operates a public “transparency center”, where it acknowledges that Saudi authorities contacted the company and sought restrictions on a total of 144 Instagram accounts, Facebook pages, and Facebook profiles during April.”

“The site also shows that Meta restricted access to 108 “items”.”

“Snapchat appears to have slowed or removed accounts in Saudi Arabia – including one used by Abdulaziz – without alerting the account owners of the change.”